My Mentor, My Lover and My Friend
by Tigerlily06
Summary: My favorite CSI shares some down time with the woman he loves.


Title: My Mentor, My Lover and My Friend  
Fandom: CSI:Miami  
Characters: Horatio Caine  
Prompt: Lovers  
Word Count: 1400  
Rating: PG 13  
Summary: Some downtime for my favorite CSI.  
Author Notes: I don't own CSI:Miami or the characters. I'm just taking them out to play with nor am I making any money off of this...sigh

I stand looking out my living room window waiting for his car to pull into my driveway. I had seen him briefly at work. He had been on his way to court and I had been heading out to a crime scene.

"Dinner at my place?" I had asked, sensing his need for sanctuary.

"Sure," he had readily agreed. A shy smile graced his lips and melted my heart.

A quick peck on the cheek and we had gone our separate ways.

I go over to the stereo and slip in my favorite CD. Van Morrison fills the room washing over me and relaxing me. I play with the jade necklace I had put on earlier, a birthday gift, as I reminisce about the change in our relationship.

It occurred gradually this change. A ride home when my car broke down. A late night conversation over a bottle of wine. An impromptu picnic during a difficult case. A dance on a desolate beach under a full moon. An afternoon cuddling in the hammock on my back porch like a pair of secret lovers. An intimate dinner at his place where he first told me he loved me.

I pull myself back to the present knowing that at any second he will be standing at my door and I'll get to see the real man. The one he hides under his tarnished armor. The one that comes to the surface when he thinks no one is looking. The one who easily shares a warm smile, a wry chuckle or a brief word of praise with those he truly cares for. The one who comes to me for comfort and in turn, makes me feel cherished and protected.

We are quite a pair, I think to myself. Difficult childhoods and rotten personal relationships have caused us to tread carefully in our never-ending search for love. We are each other's anchor in a world of uncertainty and pain.

There is a soft knock on the front door. I walk over and pull back the curtain. I see him standing there haloed by the setting sun staring at his feet lost in thought. His hands are unconsciously placed on his hips. He takes my breath away.

He still has on the suit that I had seen him in earlier, which meant he had come straight from court to see me. A black tie hung undone from the collar of his shirt. He has unbuttoned the top two buttons in accommodation to the sweltering late afternoon heat, and a tiny shiver of desire runs down my spine at the sight of that small triangle of tanned flesh.

I let the curtain fall back and unlock the door. I slowly open it. He looks up and for one brief instant I see all the pain he carries around. He blinks and it's gone hidden behind a warm smile and cool gaze.

"Hi," I hear myself say.

"Hi,' he replies in that velvety voice that makes me go weak at the knees. "May I come in?"

I smile and step back to let him enter. He takes the door from my nerveless hand and closes it behind him. He leans against it with his arms crossed over his chest. He lets his eyes roam over me in a sensual caress and I know he likes what he sees.

"You look sensational," he says softly as he steps closer. He reaches out to play with a lock of my hair. He twirls and untwirls it around his finger.

"I beg to differ," I retort, batting his hand away. I had changed into a summer dress the color of sage which I knew brought out the color of my eyes.

"Now, would I lie?" he asks. His eyebrows shoot up as his lips twitch into a playful smirk.

I shake my head. I run the back of my fingers down his cheek feeling the stubble along his jaw. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," I remark with a playful smirk of my own.

His playful smirk becomes an impish grin that exposes his inner child. He catches my hand and raises it to his lips while his eyes never leave mine. He places a soft kiss on the back of it before turning it over and kissing the palm and each finger in turn. I briefly close my eyes and sigh.

"You aren't playing fair."

"Neither are you," he purrs. His voice is a husky whisper.

I pull my hand from his. I take a small step back and give him the once over drinking in the details as if I were suddenly dying of thirst.

His golden red hair is wind tossed from the drive over and my fingers itch to straighten it, but I remove the tie instead. Rich blue eyes that are dulled with fatigue watch my every move. I slip the tie in his jacket pocket before I push it off his shoulders. It drops to his elbows.

"You're enjoying this too much," he accuses me, enjoying it as much as I am. With a casual shrug his jacket slips off and he catches it with one hand. He hands it to me to hang up while he unclips his badge and gun. He hands them to me and I place them on the hall table next to mine. It's nice to know that I am going to be spending time with the man and not the policeman.

"Do you find this to be a problem?" I tease as I turn back to him.

"It was just an observation," he remarks as he holds out his hand.

I take hold of his hand, so much bigger than my slender one and yet so gentle, and he pulls me into the middle of the room. I slip my arms around his neck and lay my head on his chest as we sway to the music.

"I love you."

"And, I you."

We dance in slow circles in the center of the room content to just be near each other. I feel the tension leave his body as he stops thinking about work and concentrates on us. The last song of the CD comes on and he pulls me closer.

_I'll be your man  
I'll understand  
And do my best to take good care of you  
_

I close my eyes and breath in his scent; a mixture of aftershave, summer flowers and salt air.

_You'll be my queen  
I'll be your king  
And I'll be your lover too  
Yes I will_

"I really like this song," he whispers in my ear. "It reminds me of us."

_Derry down green  
Colors of my dreams  
A dream that's daily coming true  
(let me tell you)_

"I know," I whisper into his chest. I don't think I could love anyone anymore than I do this kind, sweet, gentle man.

_When day is through  
I will come to you  
And tell you of your many charms_

I feel him kiss the top of my head and I sigh. I could stay this way forever.

_And you'll look at me  
With eyes that seea nd melt into each others arms_

_And so I come to be the one  
Who's always standing next to you  
_  
"I'm the luckiest guy in the world," he admits before claiming my lips in a much anticipated kiss.

_Reach out for me  
So I can be  
The one who's always reaching out for you  
Yes I will, Yes I will_

_You'll be my queen  
I'll be your king  
And I'll be your lover too.  
_  
As the song ends, we come up for air.

"You really know how to knock a girl off her feet," I tease and he chuckles.

I step away.

He lets me.

I walk over to the stereo. I can feel him watching my every move. I put on Ray Charles, and I turn to see he has made himself comfortable on the couch. The green of his shirt is a nice contrast to the white. He looks up and crooks a finger. I join him, snuggling close.

"I've wanted to do this all day," he remarks as he draws me closer still.

"Me too, Handsome," I admit, knowing that in him I have everything that is important to me. He is my mentor, my lover, but most of all he is my friend. "Me too."

The End


End file.
